Rock production at Madhyapara in limbo

Our Correspondent, Dinajpur

Hard rock production at Madhyapara Granite Mining Company Limited (MGMCL) remained suspended for around two weeks due to mine's maintenance and overhauling. Besides, shortage of explosives and detonators, key elements to extract rock from underground of the mine, is likely to cause delay resumption of the production, said officials. Earlier, on February 24, the mine started its rock operation under a new contracted company after a three-month hiatus. Germania Trest Consortium (GTC) signed the agreement with MGMCL, a company of Patrobangla, on September 2 last year. Rock production at MGMCL came to a halt on November 24 as 308 miners and workers under Blue Star Company went on an indefinite strike to realise their five-point demand including 20 percent dearness allowance, abolition of the system of employment of workers and miners through outsourcing companies and regularisation of job of diploma engineers. But, all the agitating miners and workers lost their jobs as the agreement with Blue Star, an outsourcing company, ended on December 31. On February 24, GTC recruited fresh manpower and resumed rock production but the company again suspended its operation due to maintenance and overhauling on April 14. Contacted, the authorities said an initiative was already taken to procure the explosives and detonators from the neighboring country India as early as possible.

They hoped that the elements to extract rock would arrive at the mine within this month. “On arrival of the explosives, the rock production will be started within seven to ten days,” said Md Meer Abdul Hannan, general manager (Marketing) of MGMCL. GTC signed the agreement with MGMCL for producing rock and mine maintenance for next six years. During the agreement tenure, the company is likely to produce 9 million tonnes of rock operating three shifts. On the other hand, the production suspension already created a scarcity of rock. Most of the buyers alleged that they are not getting rocks as per their demand. “I sought four rock-laden trucks two days ago but got only a single truck,” said Mehedi Hasan, a rock dealer.